N.J. Detainees Can Celebrate Holiday

WAYNE PARRY

Published 8:00 pm, Wednesday, February 20, 2002

Associated Press Writer

Muslims held in New Jersey jails as part of the terrorism investigation will be allowed to pray together and eat special meals as they celebrate a major religious holiday this weekend, federal officials said.

Friday marks the beginning of the four-day Eid-Ul-Adha, or the Holiday of the Hajj, a time when Muslims make pilgrimages to Mecca. It is one of the holiest times of the year in the Muslim calendar, along with the holy month of Ramadan in November.

During Ramadan, detainees complained they were not allowed to pray adequately in the Hudson and Passaic County jails, and were not given food prepared according to Muslin dietary laws. In protest, some detainees staged a hunger strike lasting nearly two weeks.

As a result of those problems, authorities agreed to be more accommodating this weekend, said Scott Dempsey, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in Newark.

"I think we learned from that," he said. "Prior to Ramadan, I don't know if we knew what they needed. Once we know, we try to be as accommodating as we can to their religious needs."

Among other things, the traditional meal of lamb will be offered to the Muslims.

Authorities said recently they are holding about 460 detainees arrested since Sept. 11, most of them Muslims. About 90 percent are incarcerated in New Jersey, mostly on immigration charges.

Muslim community leaders in New Jersey pressed immigration officials to change the way detainees are allowed to observe the Eid.